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Thursday, September 29, 2016

Flawless Feminist Victory

The Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act unanimously passed the U.S. Senate, clearing the final hurdle to land on Obama's desk, who will of course be signing it, because he's not terrible.

If you weren't aware, this is the legislation made possible by Amanda Nguyen that dramatically expands the rights of rape victims to store, get access to, and prevent the destruction of their rape kits to make it not completely impossible to convict their rapists.

Nguyen has been agitating for the legislation ever since her own rape several years ago exposed her to a broken system. After submitting evidence to Massachusetts through a rape kit, Nguyen was told she had 15 years to decide whether to cooperate with criminal charges – but only six months before the state was allowed to destroy her kit. As a consequence, Nguyen spends several weeks each year scrambling to locate her rape kit so she can file an extension.

Her ordeal – once, a police officer told her the kit was likely in police custody, only for a lab technician to confirm the kit was actually at a lab – caused her to wonder about the law in other states. Nguyen compiled a list of more than 20 rights that different states guarantee to someone who reports a sexual assault.

That's completely fucked up, and now it can be less fucked up!

There's still a lot more to do to create anything resembling justice in our so-called justice system in terms of rape victims, but this is a victory worth celebrating. Thank you, Amanda Nguyen!